CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX will launch one of its rockets for a record 10th time Sunday (May 9), with a very sooty Falcon 9 rocket lofting a new fleet of Starlink satellites into space before dawn, and you can watch it live online.

https://youtu.be/J71s2KmkSrc


The Hawthorne, California-based company will launch 60 Starlink satellites on one of its fleet leaders, a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket dubbed B1051. The frequent flier will blast off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station here in Florida at 2:42 a.m. EDT (0642 GMT).

You can watch the launch live here and on the Space.com homepage, courtesy of SpaceX, beginning about 15 minutes before liftoff. You can also watch the launch directly via SpaceX.

A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Sirius XM satellite SXM-7 stands atop its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for a Dec. 11, 2020 launch.A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Sirius XM satellite SXM-7 stands atop its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for a December 2020 launch. The same booster will make its 10th flight on May 9, 2021 to launch 60 Starlink satellites.

(Image credit: SpaceX)




Sunday's flight, called Starlink 26, is the 14th mission so far for SpaceX in 2021 — all of which have flown on a reused booster. It's also the second Starlink mission to launch in a week, as SpaceX's last mission blasted off on Tuesday (May 4).

When SpaceX debuted the souped-up version of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket in 2018, the company said that each launcher would be capable of flying at least 10 times with minimal refurbishment in between launches, and 100 times total. The rocket used in this mission will be the first to reach that milestone.

Those numbers may be more of an estimate rather than a hard limit. SpaceX has learned a lot about the refurbishment process, and the company's CEO and founder, Elon Musk, says that SpaceX will continue to push Falcon 9 to the limit as it works to expand its Starlink mega constellation.

SpaceX created Starlink in hopes of providing high-speed internet access to users around the world, and as a means to help fund its Mars ambitions. The service is targeted to users in rural or remote areas that have little-to-no connectivity, although anyone can use it.

credit:space.com

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